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252 it I should have quite enough to occupy my thoughts.

After resting for a reasonable time, I commenced the perusal of the second manuscript. Compared to the other, it belonged to a recent period. No date, however, was affixed. Probably there had been one, but no trace of it was now to be seen, for the manuscript was considerably damaged when found, owing to the water having penetrated the case that enclosed it. In this instance, too, I should have mentioned that the original of the copy I held had been converted to dust ages ago. It was the only result, as far as known, of the largest expedition that ever left Neuroomia. The movement took its origin from the enthusiasm of a number of brave and hardy men who were fond of adventure and filled with a desire to penetrate the mysteries of the great ocean beyond and the beautiful lands it was believed to contain. They fixed their ship, the Valina, on a huge sledge, and by powerful mechanical appliances managed to drag her over the frozen field. It was, however, a hazardous undertaking, and the men endured terrible sufferings on the ice; indeed, some of them lost their lives there, for the winter had set in before they reached the open sea. The